Thread: adding energy work to martial practice

I find that to be rather.. interesting. That doesn't mean you should now hit people in organs and meridians whilst forming #energy charges ( or any other term that fits your belief ) in your palms.
But it can be added to the breathing exercises or kata for example. You can learn to synchronize it with your breath, get a better "grip" on your energy.
A good grip on the ego is also a good thing .
A good application that doesn't involve using energy against others is keeping warm during winter, by directing your blood to the capillary veins.
I don't know if it works for every one of you, but doing martial spiritual and mental training together rather than focusing on one brings good results.
Any toughts on this?

Part of the 'Kata' work is just that, building heat, grounding, preparing you, getting focused, etc...through focused breathing.
With 'Kata' work, it's usually done in total focus, on your self, so the energy should be given out, but also pulled in, through the breathing. This creates a charge .
A good 'sensei' will teach you all this and more...

And it's true that you can with your thoughts, create heat to keep warmer in winter.

I think that martial, mental, and spiritual training have to be done together by default, even if one doesn't realize that's the case, because martial power; chi; etc. are ultimately forged by the strength of one's shen (spirit), chi is directed by the mind, and shen is shaped by the results and focus of one's martial practice. In the traditional Taoist model, which plays a significant role in sorcery and medical chi gung as well as kung fu, the five levels or components of the self (from lowest to highest) are jing (primal, base essence and desire), chi (energy), shen (spirit), Wuji (Void) and Tao. Although they are sometimes presented and dealt with individually, they all exist simultaneously within one another. In order to achieve the greatest amount of skill in martial, medical, or magickal work, one must be able to move through each of these levels in ascending or descending order, depending upon the desired outcome.

Light is absolutely correct in saying that good form work from whatever system, be it Japanese karate; Chinese kung fu; or any other Asian based style should entail all of those elements mentioned. Almost everything I have done in magickal practice has a foundation in what I have learned by training in the Chinese martial arts, as the underlying belief within both areas is that focused, directed energy is what does the trick. Originally, the four pillars of Taoist sorcery were music, medicine, martial arts and magic. One had to achieve a high level of proficiency in each of these areas in order to be considered a competent and capable sorcerer, let alone a priest. Over time, these four aspects have splintered into "separate" disciplines, but are really still connected. Spending some time with traditional kung fu should dispel most ideas that they are separate, as there is an emphasis on music (lion dance, traditional drumming, etc.), human anatomy and the energy body (medicine) and training the chi and shen (magick) in most every system I know of. The other aspects that Light mentioned are things that most beginners to magickal work that I have met find difficult at first, but to many martial artists they are almost second nature. Find a good practitioner of Tai Chi Ch'uan or Bagua and observe what they do during form work or practical application and this becomes immediately apparent. My Sifu doesn't think too much of "magickal" things, but his skills in energy work (chi projection and iron hand/iron body) and especially grounding are more developed than those of any Witch, magician, sorcerer, or whatever that I have ever personally known. But to him, it's just part of training and is nothing special. So I guess it's all in the way that one chooses to approach their individual practice. But my personal feeling is that it's impossible to NOT train those aspects together, and the energy added to one's martial practice usually comes naturally as a result.